Gifts for gardeners

It is gift-giving time for others and for yourself. Have you given any thought to the gardeners on your list? We gardeners are easy to please. For our reading time this winter, it is easy to find books that will help us be better gardeners.

Timber Press has a well-deserved reputation for publishing quality, easy to understand, helpful books. With 418 books in print, there are numerous valuable books for you to select one or more for addition to your library. Contact Timber Press, 133 SW 2nd Ave. #450, Portland, OR 97204, at www.timberpress.com or call (800) 327-5680.

Fine Gardening Books are published by Taunton Press, Inc. (63 South Main St., PO 5506, Newtown, Ct 06470-5506, (866) 325-2495). You may be more familiar with them as the people who offer the undeniably most read garden magazine published in the U.S. today.

Peruse the winter issue that contains articles on sustainable gardens, pruning blueberries, container gardens, nine small trees for the shade, and much more and you will realize that Fine Gardening is a must-have magazine.

Look into the titles from Story Publishing (210 Mass Moca Way, North Adams, MA, www.storey.com) and from Garden Way books; both offer the works of local authors who focus on aspects of the challenges of gardening in New England. Pay a visit to Barnes & Noble. Consistently they provide the latest and best garden books for your edification.

You may find “The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds” by Robert and Cheryl Gough that deals with seed saving, harvesting, storage, and germination of 322 vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits, trees, and shrubs. Published in 2011, the book is an excellent example of the type of book that is the focus of Storey Publishing. In the current search for books that support sustainability, this book is a winner.

An example of a Timber Press publication is “Christopher Lloyd’s Garden Flowers.” My copy is a well-constructed paperback copy of 384 pages published in 2005 and selling for less than $30. For the practical and aesthetic use of perennials, bulbs, grasses, and ferns in a garden setting, Christopher Lloyd is the acknowledged leader. He explains not only how to use specific plants but also why. This book is a rare tome, as you will enjoy reading it but will find yourself returning to its pages over and over.

Perhaps you are feeling practical. The gardener in your life is more into doing than reading about it. You then should be looking at the tools and products from A. M. Leonard (241 Fox Drive, Piqua, OH 45356, (800) 543-8955, amleo.com), as they have been offering professional-grade horticultural tools and supplies for more than 125 years. Their catalogs are instruments of learning about rakes, spades, pruners, carts, knives, shears, and any other quality tools that will expand your gardening horizons.

To be practical, join Worcester County Horticultural Society (Tower Hill Botanic Garden), the New England Wildflower Society (Garden In The Woods) and support their efforts.